Townsquare Capital LLC Raises Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,895 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,068 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $26,503,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. NCP Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter. NCP Inc. now owns 3,423 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,034,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the period. Carlson Capital Management increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.2% during the third quarter. Carlson Capital Management now owns 845 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $749,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Shum Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth approximately $1,526,000. Avestar Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 5.1% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 4,153 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,682,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,133 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,777,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $971.50 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $582.83 and a 12-month high of $976.30. The business has a 50 day moving average of $903.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $868.77. The company has a market capitalization of $430.44 billion, a PE ratio of 58.63, a PEG ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.86 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.00%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Truist Financial cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $980.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $908.81.

Costco Wholesale Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.